Lifting-jack



A. NEAL.

LIFTING JACK.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. 2s, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

II".- m

II y a A a i f;

@E v E (5v-MMM A. NEAL.

LIFTING JACK.

APPLICATION HLED JAN.28. 1921.

1,384,539. Patented July 12, 1921.

2 SHEETSAHEET 2.

'A TTOR/VEX ALBERT NEAL, OF KOKOMIO, INDIANA LIFTIivG-JACK.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented July 12, 1921.'

Application filed January 28, 1921. Serial No. 440,777.

To all 'whom it may concern: j

Be it known that I, ALBERT NEAL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kokomo, in the county of Howard and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lifting-Jacks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a lifting jack and embodies certain improvements and advantages over those shown and described in myV prior patents, for instance, No. 1,355,842 and No. 1,355,843,wherein' the lifting bar can be raised and lowered in progressive order, and also vincluding means whereby the load can be dropped Vat one operation if desired.

One of the objects of the present invention consists in the provision of means whereby in'dropping vtheload at a single operation I am still able to regulate and control the speed of descent of the lifting bar and its load', and which is an important feature especially if the' load comprises an article of delicate or expensive construction.

There are other objects which will appear from a perusal of the*k following description and claims, and which I accomplish by means ofthe construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical sectional View through the frame ofthe jack, in whichthe movable parts are shown in elevation, on the plane 1-1 in Fig. 3. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the lifting jack. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the lifting jack on the plane 3-3 in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail view in the same plane as Fig. 1, showing the pawls at the limit of their range of travel in elevating'the lifting bar. Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, except that the actuator lever is shown'as depressed to the limit of its travel so as to disengage both of the pawls from the lifting bar. Fig. 6 is atransverse sectional view on the plane 6-6 in Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a fragmentary detail view in side elevation of the lifting jack frame. Fig. 8`is a view showing the lifting jack partl. in horizontal section and partly in top pian. Fig. 9 is a perspective view of one of the lifting 'pawls Referring to drawings, 15 represents the lifting jack frame which is provided with a longitudinal slot 16 which forms one of the assisting means for guiding the lifting bar in afdetermined path of travel, and the two parts of the framethus divided by slot 16 are connected at the bottom by a base memn ber 17 and at the top by a cross rib 17 to form a substantially rigid frame structure'.y

As shown in Fig. 6 slot ,16 is off-set or widened within the frame of the jack to pro-k vide a pair of opposedribslS, and, as willV hereinafter appear, these ribs'prevent the outward `displacement of thel lifting bar from the frame of the jack. lThe width of slot 16 is also reduced at one point by. means of the projections 19 on the .faces of the opposed ribs 178 (Fig. 2) and lthe lifting bar 20 is provided with the extensions or proturberances 21 which will pass the projections l 19 only after applying considerable pressure to the lifting bar, so that after the parts are in an assembled condition -their accidental separation is prevented. The inner side walls of the lifting jack frame are'also pro--v vided with fixed cam-shaped surfaces22 (Figs. 5 and '3), which perform'certain functions to be hereinaftermore particularly described. f

`As shown in Fig. 6, lifting bar 20 is T- shaped in cross section in which the cross-l bar of the T projects and slides behind the shoulders formed by the opposed ribs 18, and the stem `of the T slides iny yslot 16 ofthe frame of the jack. The front face of lifting bar 20 is provided with aseries of teeth 25 .by means of which longitudinal movement y may be imparted to said/bar, and the bar'20 is further provided witha longitudinally disposed groove 26 which isl V-shap'ed in cross section (Fig. 6), andthe object ofthis groove ywill be hereinafter described.

The frame of 'the jack is'provided with a v pair of lateral extensions 30, and these eXtensions are provided with al pair tof slots 31 which are enlarged attheir lower closed ends to form pockets to receive the trunnions 32 on the head33 of the actuator lever 34.

Trunnions 32 are formed to 1correspondto the diameter of the enlarged' pockets of slots` 31,.but one side of each. trunnion is'dressed awayto so reduce its diameter and permit it i to pass through the slots 31 if heldin proper relation' with the slots. After the trunnion 32 enters the enlarged end ofthe slot it may then be given a'slight turn sonas to present its increased diameter to the slot and thusy prevent the accidental separation of the'actuator lever 34 from the jack frame.

As before stated, trunnions 32 are carried by head 33 which forms a part of the actuator lever kAs shownin Fig. 5, the up- ,i

per and central portion of head 33 is channeled to provide a flange. 35..ateach sideof the head, and arranged between and supported by the flanges 35 are the movable pawls 38 and 39 which engage the teeth 25 and impart longitudinal movement to the lifting bar 20. Pawls 38 and 39 are also removably mounted in the flanges 35. This I accomplish by providing one or both of the fianges 35 with the slots 40 which terminate at their lower ends in 1enlarged pockets to receive the trunnions 41 of the pawls.Vv When the flanges ever I prefer to provide one of the flanges 35' with apertures andthe remaining flange i 'with the slots 40, so that by reducing the diameter of the trunnions on one side of the pawls, and adjacent to the bodies of thepawls', will permit the reduced portions ofV .the ,trunnions topass through the slots 40,

i and after they enter the enlarged portions ofthe slots the pawls may then be moved sidewise so as to cause the opposite trunnion ends to enter the lapertures in the oppo- I site flange and at the same time present thefull diametrical portions of the reduced trunnionsto the slots 40. When the pawls.

are placed in operative position in head 33 and the latter is inserted into the jack frame, the pawls are prevented from moving sidewise and becoming displaced from their bearings by means of the inner faces of the lateral extensions 30. Y Y .Y

The `construction and assembling of the parts so far described disclosesl that whenv the pawls 38 and 39 are arranged in operative position in head 33 and theV latter is in'- serted vinto operative position in the jack frame. the displacement of all of these parts is prevented, and the parts can not be taken apart until they are turned into vdetermined positions to permittheir removal and disassemblement. It may also be stated that the. pawls 38and 39 are pivotally mounted in head 33 andare arrangedrelatively to the axes of the trunnions 32 so that a prescribed movement is imparted to the pawls at each movement of theV actuator lever 34, but this range of movement of the pawls is reduced sufficiently after inserting'the liftving bar 20 into the jack frame to preventA the removal of the lever 34 and the trun-` nions 32 from the bearing slots 3l until thel removal of the lifting'bar is first effected from the jack frame. Hence, the lifting bar .20.4 becomes a key for maintaining all of the parts of the jackin assembled operative position, and, as heretofore pointed out, considerable force being necessary to remove the lifting bar 20 from the jack frame, it

necessarily follows lthat all of the parts of the vjack are maintained in operative position, and that their assemblement and disy assemblement canonly be effected by first vremoving bar 2O and then passing the sevlifting bar 20 a distance equaling the height of Aone of the teeth 25. While vpawl 39 is thus undergoing movement in elevating lift-y ing bar 20 and its load the lower pawl 38 moves downwardly and is disengaged`-from the teeth 25 by meansof the underside and' marginal edges of the pawl coming into corrtact with the cam-shaped surfaces'22 heretoforel referred to as being fixed on the inner side walls of the jack frame.. YPawl 38 is thus held out of -contact of teeth25 until pawl 39 reaches the limit ofits Yupward' travel, and when the movement of the actuator lever 34 is reversed and the pawl'39 starts to withdraw from the teeth 25 the lower pawl 38movesforward andv its free end enters the space between the teeth in front of the camsurfaces 22 before the pawl 39 is completely disengaged from teeth 25. During the continued .downward movement of actuator lever 34 from its position shown in Fig. 4 tic `that shown in Fig. 1, lower pawl 38 merely supports the load without imparting anylongitudinal movement to thelift`- ing bar 2O while the upper pawl 39 is mov-V ing downwardly to effect a new point of contact in the lowerv portion of the lifting bar 20. lVhen it is desired to drop the load,y theV actuator lever 34 is depressed from its normal position shown in Fig. l to that shown in Fig. 5, and the extent of this added down-y ward movement of the lever so increases the `range of movement of head 33 aboutA its axis as to effect the disengagement of both pawls from the teeth25 and allowing the lifting bar and the Vload to descend. As

shownin the drawings, the actuator lever 34 is rather short which enables the jack Vto lbe easily packed in a tool box or chest,rand

to provide the desired leverage in. lifting 4loads up to the normal capacity oftherjack I provide` a detachable handle 42 which may readily.. be attached and` detachedffrom the actuator 'lever 34.. f The end of handle 42 adjacent the frame ofy the -j ack isprovided with alateralV foot lextension 43 whichvcomes i into contact with the outer faces of the extensions of jack frame 15 and `acts as a stop for limiting the normal downward travel of the actuator lever 34 andV handle 42. When the foot extension 43 comes into contact with extensions 30 the impact is felt by the operator so that during the operation of elevating the load he will apply no additional pressure to cause further depression of the handle 42 but will reverse the movement of the handle, for the reason that a fur- 'ther depression of the handle 42 below itsl indicated in Fig. 1 willV position is sufficient to force the handle 42 to move longitudinally and independently on actuator lever 34 a'sufficient distance to afford the necessary clearance and freedom of the additional movement of head 33 about its axis to cause both of the pawls 38 and 39 to be disengaged. from the lifting'bar 20, all as clearly indicated in Fig. 5.

In my former patents heretofore referred to, I was able to drop the load by depressing the actuator handle beyond its normal range of travel, thereby withdrawing both of the pawls simultaneously and leavingthe lifting bar free to move downwardly. In these former devicesI was unable to controlor regulate the speed of descent of the lifting bar and its load, and it is one of the primary objects of this invention to provide means that after I have disengaged and set free the lifting'bar, to continue to lregulate and control the downward travel of said bar and the load sustained thereon, which is of considerable importance if the thing lowered is of delicate and expensive construction. This I accomplish by means of alongitudinal groove or channel 26 in the lifting bar and which is shown as V-shaped in cross section in Fig. 6.V The head 33 of the. actuator lever 34 is provided with an integral cam-shaped rib 50 which registers with and in cross section corresponds to the shape of channel 26. During the normal operation of the actuator lever 34, that is to say, from to that shown in Fig. 4, the cam 50 imposes no restraining effect upon the free longitudinal movement of the lifting bar 20, and it is only when the actuator lever is depressed below its normal range of travel as shown in Fig. 5 that its movement simultaneously disengages bothV of the pawls 38 and 29 from the lifting bar and renders cam '50 effective, for the reason that the actuator lever has moved through a sufficient arc of travel about its pivot to move the the position shown in Fig. l'

cam 50 into the V-shaped groove 26. The

degree of restraint that the cam 50 imposes on the movement of the lifting bar is determined largely by the operator, depending upon the speed attained by the lifting bar under a given weight and the amount of Vpressure exerted by the operatoren the actuator lever. In other words, the breaking effect of the cani 50 determined by the pressure app-lied to the actuator lever 34 by the operator. i f

From the foregoing description it will be observed that when my improved lifting jack is employed as an automobile jack, and thel motor vehicle is elevated to change a tire, I can impose' a restraint when lowering the vehicle and thereby prevent possible injury thereto.V The .present jackl is intended to be manufactured in various sizes, be made in convenient form for use by section men on railways. Vhen a jack is designed for the latter use, the transverse foot 43 on the end of the handle 42 becomes quite an important feature. As shown in Figs. l and 3 the free end of this latter extension is provided in its edge with a recess or notch 55 which maybe readily utilized both as a crow bar and as a means for withdrawing' the spikes from the cross ties.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I desire to secure'by Letters Patent, is Y l. A lifting jack comprising a frame, a movable tooth lifting bar guided in said frame, an actuator lever oscillatively supported in said frame, a pair of pawls pivotally supported in the end'yof the actuator lever and lifting bar when the lever is oscillated, said lever capable of being depressed a sufficient' distance to disengageboth pawls for releasing and freeing the lifting bars, and means carried by the actuator lever for imparting a frif'ctional contact for controlling the downward movement of said bar.

2. A lifting i ack comprising a frame provided with a rlongitudinal slot, a movable T-shaped lifting bar guided in said frame with the stem of the Tv riding in said slot, extensions on the side walls of the slot and similar extensions on the side walls of the lifting bar, the two extensions operating to prevent accidental displacement of the lifting bar from said frame, a pair of pawls pivotally mounted in the end of the actuaator lever bar when the actuator lever'is oscillated, said lever being susceptible of being depressed a distance to disengage both of the pawls and releasing the lifting bar, and means for-controlling the downward movement of said released bar.

3. A lifting jack comprising a frame having a pair of alined slots terminating in enlarged pockets, a movable lifting bar guided to alternately engage the lifting' and can adapted to alternately engage the y V"Within said fra1ne,.anfactuator leverV oscilf latively supported in said trame, trunnions on the lever havingtheir diameter reduced in one direction for passage through Vthe slots in the frame', a detachable handle for increasing the leverage of the actuator lever and alsorindicating lthe normal downward travel of said lever, the detachable handle being susceptible of independentl longitudinal movement on the lever to afford additional travel for the actuator lever and pawls.

V4. In a lifting jack, a frame, ai movable lifting bar guided in said frame said: bar being provided With a longitudinal channel having inwardly converged sides, anf actuf ator lever 'removably mounted in said frame,

a pair of pawls removably mounted in said actuator for successively elevating the batI when saidlever is oscillated, and means car ried 'by the lever for'frictionally engaging Athe side Walls ofthe channel when .both

- this 17th day of January, A. D., one thoufY sand nine hundred Yandtvventy one.

g ALBERTNEAL] fasj, 

